No hiding in the shadows for this Dutch don
Don welcome back to DMC dude. Good to speak to you. So a big year ahead. You hittingh Miami this year?
“Thanks Dan! I will be skipping Miami this time, because of studio obligations, so you guys will have to party extra hard for me!”
Lightweight! Well, a busy few weeks ahead for you, first off release wise, your new single coming out on Columbia – tell us about the tune…
“It’s an ElectroRaveStep track that I did called ‘Silent Shadows’. I worked on the instrumental together with Martijn & Nik from Noisia and wrote the lyrics in London together with the talented Marlene Strand who has some amazing material coming up with Benga as well, so it was a very satisfying collaborative effort this time around. The full release will be complimented with remixes by Qulinez, Preditah, Mind Vortex and Keljet.”
And there is the small matter of the re-release of your tune with Diplo on Mad Decent, what’s the story there?
“When Diplo and I originally did the track we didn’t really do a proper release due to several circumstances. When the track got synced to a worldwide Blackberry campaign featuring Diplo people started asking him about the track over and over again, so we decided to revisit the track, do a proper release on Mad Decent and shoot a video for it, which became an instant viral hit. It’s weird because the track keeps on growing slowly but surely, they are even playing it on daytime radio in the States right now.”
What is the big 10 you are spinning right now?
Rusko – Somebody To Love (Skream Remix)
Habstrakt – Rough (Brown & Gammon Remix)
Noisia – Stigma (Neosignal Remix)
D-Jahsta – Slug Bass
Sway – Level Up (Fake Blood Remix)
Fire Flowerz – U Got 2
Sound of Stereo – Diamond (The Loops Of Fury Remix)
Star Eyes – The Night (Hostage Remix)
Metronomy – The Look (Camo & Krooked Remix)
Mind Vortex – HotBox
Where have been the highlights of the winter months DJing around the globe?
“Looking back on it, I guess my Australian/Asian tour this winter was probably the highlight, not just on a creative/professional level, but also on a personal level as I was fortunate to meet a few inspiring new people and spend a good amount of quality time with them. Sometimes you just get caught in this ratrace of a life and forget to breathe every once in a while that’s when you need other people stepping in to offer you a fresh perspective on things every once in a while.”
So we head back to yours after the club, what is Don Diablo Back To Mine 10 you spin us?
“I always make these personal “back to mine” mixtapes for my close friends…on these tapes you will find and eclectic mix of tracks like…
Peter Gabriel – My Body Is A cage
The weeknd – Montreal
Deerhunter – Helicopter
Max Richter – On The Nature Of Daylight
The Tallest Man On Earth – The Gardner
Ludovico Einaudi – Primavera
James Vincent McMorrow – We Don’t Eat
Captain Beefheart – Bluejeans And Moonbeams
Johnny Cash – Hurt
Tom waits – Choclate Jesus
You have remixed some very large artists over the years – what is it about your style that you think makes you a good remixer?
“I try to approach each song as a separate entity and never know which direction I will be heading into until it’s finished basically. I don’t want to kill the spirit of the original track by limiting myself to a certain style or tempo, which in the end has resulted in quite an eclectic range of electronic music on my remix portfolio.”
Tinie Tempah, Mika, Public Enemy, Cassius, Gorillaz and The Chemical Brothers all had a Diablo rework – which was the most fun?
“The most fun was probably this remix I did for Rox – ‘I Don’t Believe’ – just because it took the least amount of time and I am still proud of that remix, because somehow it works from a to z.”
What is the finest record you have ever played to a dancefloor?
“That’s like asking a father of a big family to pick a favourite child: impossible I’m afraid.”
You are living in London these days, what is the best and worst thing about living in our fair capital city?
“The best thing is probably the fact that I get to work and do sessions with so many amazing people which is really inspiring. The worst thing is probably the traffic and transport in general in London.”
What is the latest on the new album due out on Columbia?
“I have now got about five tracks finished and will be recording several others in the following months.”
Have you spotted any up and coming DJs/producers on your travels we should be looking outor?
“I’d say producers like Keljet, Nick Legan, Preditah, Rene Kuppens and Mind Vortex all have a bright future ahead of them.”
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